“Apple Computer Inc. could bid $6 billion for Vivendi Universal’s music business, Vivendi director Claude Bebear said in an interview published on Wednesday. Bebear said Apple ‘will probably make an offer for the music business for about $6 billion,’ according to the interview with Bloomberg. Officials at Vivendi and Apple were not immediately available to comment on the report. According to the interview, Bebear said a $6 billion offer was ‘a bit low.’ Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported that Apple was considering a $5 billion to $6 billion offer for Universal Music. An industry source in Paris told Reuters over the weekend that talks between Vivendi and Apple had evolved to become ‘quite substantive’ and that a decision on a bid was expected by the end of the month,” reports Reuters today . Full article here.
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I wondr where Steve wil get that $6 BILLION from? Oh well, if one guy is ballsy enough to try something like this, it’s him
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well, he’s got $4.4b cash already. But I suspect the Vivendi Universal Music business unit can support a hefty debt load on its own. It made a $510 million operating profit last year. The question is, how much of the parent company’s debt load comes along with the purchase? VU, all told (and it’s a lot larger company than its music division), has lost more than $55b in the last two years. Could be at an arm’s length from Apple, I’d suppose. And if it’s more a Steve Jobs deal than an Apple deal, it would make another very powerful media house in his portfolio (remember, he’s contributed 35 percent of Disney’s profits since 1999, and will probably move away from them in 2005, taking those profits in house). For convergence to happen at the consumer level, it has to happen at the corporate level, too. I don’t think it’s too nuts to suggest that some day we might see Apple and Sony merge, too.
One other thing: does VU by any chance own the rights to Apple Records?
One other thing: does VU by any chance own the rights to Apple Records?
Err no, I do
One thing to remember is that Disney’s contract with Pixar expires after the release of Finding Nemo (I think). I’m sure U/V would like the distribution rights to future Pixar movies – perhaps a deal could be made that way.